Posts Categorized: Inspirational

One of my family’s favorite Christmas traditions is the Advent wreath. On each of the four Sundays in Advent (the four weeks before Christmas), our family gathers around the wreath with cookies and eggnog and hot chocolate. Not only is this cozy family time, but it focuses us with joyful anticipation on the birth of… Read more »

One of my family’s favorite Christmas traditions is the Advent wreath. On each of the four Sundays in Advent (the four weeks before Christmas), our family gathers around the wreath with cookies and eggnog and hot chocolate. Not only is this cozy family time, but it focuses us with joyful anticipation on the birth of… Read more »

One of my family’s favorite Christmas traditions is the Advent wreath. On each of the four Sundays in Advent (the four weeks before Christmas), our family gathers around the wreath with cookies and eggnog and hot chocolate. We light the candles, read Scripture passages, and sing carols. Not only is this cozy family time, but… Read more »

How could I resist this poster for Thanksgiving week? On January 6, 1941, in his State of the Union Address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that everyone deserved four fundamental freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. At the time, the Axis dictators stifled freedom of speech… Read more »

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the First World War came to an end. The Armistice was signed for the War to End All Wars, but peace was built on a shoddy foundation, and war returned, nastier than ever. The end of the Second World War brought… Read more »

How many of you will be glad to see the election season come to an end? I will. I’m sick of the deluge of phone calls and junk mail and spam, of the obscene quantities of money spent, of anger and snark masquerading as debate, of cheesy smiles and perfectly coiffed heads. It beats the… Read more »

Ten steps to perfects abs! Five steps to a happy marriage! Twenty ways to earn more money! Most people say they want things easy, but on the contrary, our human instinct longs for steps and rules. One look at a magazine cover proves it. It’s about control. If we have steps to follow, we can… Read more »

On Memorial Day, we remember those who gave their lives in defense of our country. We live in freedom because they fought tyranny. We live without fear because they faced danger. We live in comfort because they gave up all comforts. We live because of their sacrifices. Let’s never take these gifts for granted. They… Read more »

Sirena Gate, Paestum, Italy I used to love watching my oldest son play with blocks when he was little. A natural engineer, he was always drawn to building higher, longer, and sturdier, constantly modifying his designs. At children’s museums, he would enlist his younger sister and brother into helping him construct the giant arch from… Read more »

My cat Janie is pressed to the floor by the sliding glass window, ears low, whiskers forward. On the back lawn, little birds hop around eating the grass seed my husband just scattered. While Janie enjoys this, my husband does not. His purpose was to grow grass, not to entertain little cats. In the parable… Read more »